Direpeller and speed control therefor



July 22 1952 E. LAGELBAUER 2,603,946

DIREPELLER AND SPEED CONTROL THEREFOR Filed Nov. 29, 194e 46 INVENTOR. Ernes Zagelauer' Mame/5 Patented July 22, 1952 19. Claims.

This Ainvention Lrelates to an improvement Son 'ny J"pending patent application, Serial No. "4:67f52 dated'Nover'nberso, le4a'nowlab'andoned, and entitled Direct Propulsion Device.

This invention concerns a device that Ivill referto "as `the direpeller Aand Vmeans to control tlie speed 'of 'a `rotating member thereof. My d'vce "consists of 'the direpeller vwith Van Lasso `elated thermal jet unit to effect maintenanceof Lthe"c'ori"ect 'angle'of air entranceinto th'edi'reipelle'r 'bladin'gs and utilization of Waste heat. "The auxiliary 'thermal jet unitassists in the i'nairlte'nance "of high blading e'icieney of the dii'pell'r "atall practical; flying 'conditions' a's'well as allowing utilization of Waste'heat- Briefly, the direpeller consists of an adjoin- 'i'fgfstator'and rotor co-aXi'ally positioned with'- in."a.'dire'peller tube. The rotor is 'driven by a flwrplant. 'The direp'eller can bedened'asia lted 'axial "turbo-'type lfan havingone vrotary andfoh'e 's'tltion'aryfblading element, the stationifairyr bladfng 'element being 'preferably disposed tothef rear of. the rotary blading element. Upon vthe column of propulsive airpassing tliugh 'th Vt'epellI' due to vthe alfts 'flight l'f, during lst'aflidstill,v due t0 the blower :action f'iifta bythe direpe11er'-is inipartea 'an angular, that is, transversal velocityconiponent by "virvrtu'of` vthe expended power. The angular Aacceleration 'is prduded by the action'df the ro'- `tating stage ofthe direpeller whichis constituted ljy 'an appropriately shaped deecftion bladig. The superposition of this. angular ow"'comp'o' nentupon the longitudinal air llow 'through the direpeller lresult's'i'n a helical air liow within the dirielleiiube- Y The/thrust developed is due tothe rectiiication or Vstrlightening out of the helical air flow by I rieans of a stationary stage of composite V deflection-blading which receives the thrust and transmitsit directly to the aircraft upon Whichit is rigidly.mounted. This reaction results in Work performance -in the longitudinall direction of vflight. Theair jet opposite to Eight direction poduced by the action of the blading, can be Aref errfedtoas the kinematic jet. v

Zlorl inost eflicient operation, the air ow enti'ig bo'tl 'the rotor and stator Qblaling should zb'e nearlyco-incidentwith the direction of the leading 'edge ofthe bladirigs. This 'condition may he "obtained by adjusting the rotat'onalspeed. of me rater if; 'ac'brdnce 'with 'the' laying steeg'. ."-The "rotational Vspeed and cons'equently the dl''pellr `is adjusted 'by controlling the power fro ifs

fao

re l1 showsfplan ViewSchemata:anymusL as time 'thema a mi;

lfuselage"38;showing the physical f locationof the direpeller and thermalfjet unit. The center line "of the "direpelle'r 4IIU is 'at "the level of ithe 'wing 31 and A the air compression equipment "is" shownfinstalled fin the "wing '31. In n such an 'installation jurere :would 'be a vsecond vsnep-e"11er Ilocated in 'the 'corresponding position of 'thefopposite wing. However, in order to properly 'balance "thesys- "teinfor its liiglesticiency, the 'second direpeller :would have its rotor-rotating in the opposite E'd1- "iectionffrom th'e''rst direpeller'rotor in 'order to `eeurltrba1anee the torque produced 'by l'the direjpeur action. The dir'epu'r 4o whiehcnsrsts ofthe ftr Il vantw-he 'stator' '1 2 "isses-marred 'in't rie 'di rpe1 1eritube 41.V Trie/tute 4| wieh "can best b e described as a fci'rcula'r riin 'of `thin E diven by, the lovv speed-gast'urbine vI-3. Mounted on .the extreme .forward .portion of'fthe air directly from the atmosphere .after which` the bulk of this compressed air is passed through the air cooler 29 to the high pressure turbo com- A portion of the compressed-air delivery of the low pressure compressor I6` ispressor I1.

diverted by valve 23 through duct 24 to cool the in my co-pending application, Serial No. 751,164, led May 29, 1947, and entitled Cooling System' for Gas Turbine Blading. action of cooling the blading, the air will absorb a certain amount ofrheat whichis ultimately passed on to the thermal jet for utilization.

The compressed,airleaying the high` pressure turbo compressor I'I passes through duct 34 to the combustion chamber I8. Here the compressed air is mixed with the fuel supply entering through tube 35 and the resultant combustible mixture furnishesv thenecessary power todiive the high speed gas turbine I5. The exhaust from turbine I being of an intermediate pressure level, -is passed through duct 30, Ato Ythe low speed multi-stage gas turbine I3, where4 itsv potential energy yields sufficient power to operate the turbine I3. Y t 1,

Valve I9 diverts a portion of the compressed airv through duct 29 to the thermal jet.l This air is then passed through heat exchangeruZI where it absorbs heat `from the turbine exhaust. The exhaust of turbine I3 passes through gas Yconduits l3nt into the heat exchanger 271.3 Y, y

Heat exchanger 2| serves for :bringing the thermal jet air to` its highest energy content level before it is exhausted through the thermal jet nozzle 25. The gain of this additionalenergy will result in kan increase kin the `dis'cliarged velocity of the thermal jet as it expands from the thermal jet nozzle 25. Before expansion through nozzle 25 the thermal 'jet air is joined by the air diverted by valve 23 which air has been heated ,in cooling gas turbine I3, that is,'a,p'ortion'y of '.28 through duct 21 to the casing 3| disposed around low speed gas turbine I3 for cooling component parts of this turbinav This airlsubs'equently Acombines with compressed air diverted Vfrom the cooler 29 by Vvalve I9 'and is 'contributed to the thermal 'jet action. l V It Ycan be shown that for horizontal flight and constant fuel expenditures per distance flown, the 'pitch' of the helical air flow in a' direpeller does not changematerially, irrespective `of speed and altitude. Howevenwhen'an aircraft iiies on an inclined path,` the pitch changes rdrastically since the forward speed changes with 'the degree of inclination while the rotor speed changes in accordance with the power input and withfth'e correspondingly varied mass of propulsivelair passing through the direpeller. The net effect is that in climbing, the pitchof'y the air flow which is the ratio of the forward velocity; component to the angular velocity component diminishes, while in descending the opposite holds;-v l

lTo adapt the power plant for various performance conditions requires considerable flexibility of the power system with respect ,to load 4 apportionment between the high pressure turbine I5 and the lower pressure turbine I3 as well as to load and speed regulation of the low pressure turbine I3. The means for controlling the performance character of the power system consists in the disposition of compressed air delivered by the compression equipment and involves the regulation of the amount of air extracted from the compressor at an intermediary pressure stage as described above. The principal method for controlling both speed and load of turbine I3 relies on the regulation of the intermediary pressurev against which turbine I5 discharges and Vblades of the high speed gas turbine I5 as-shown Y I3. In turn, this intermediary pressure is controlled'by the amount of air admitted through the secondary air cooling circuit duct 24 of tur- As a result of this y.the air leaving the cooler29 is diverted by valve bine I5'. This air actually cools the blades of turbine I5 and enables it to operate with much hotter combustion mixtures without overheating and the thus heated gases passing to and energizingthe turbine I3 more eiectively drive that turbine and thereby the energy oi this heated air is converted to mechanical energy by turbine I3. .f For the various conditions of iiightit will be necessary to control the apportionment of air delivery to the thermal jet. Under normal takeoff conditions approximately 40% to 80% of the compressed air will be diverted by valve I9 through duct 29 to the thermal jet. Whe'nrthe plane has reached a point where it .will level out to horizontal flight, it will be necessary'to speed up the rotor II to adjust the pitch compensation to the velocity ofthe incoming air which will be meeting the rotor blades trata ydierent angle than when the plane is in vinclined flight. yThis is accomplished by restricting the air flow to the thermal jet by correspondingly adjusting the valve I9 and also by'diverting more air by valve 23 to the high speed turbine I5 which will result in the low speed turbine I3 attaining higher speed. If it is desired to place the plane in a climb, it would be necessary to decrease the speed of the rotor once again which can be accomplished by adjusting valves I9 and 23 to direct more air to the thermal jet and less to the high speed turbine I5. In Figure 2 I have shown a front view of 'a direpeller mounted on and in the wing of a plane. In Figure 3 is an enlarged closeup view of the shape and position of the blading on the stator and rotor of the direpeller with the Vectors showing the direction of incoming and outgoing air through the direpeller which propulsive air constitutes the kinematic jet. Vector is the velocity of the air leaving rotor II, relative tothe rotor, while vector 46 represents this same velocity with respect to the aircraft.

Referring to Figure 1, the arrows 44 show the flow of the propulsive air of the kinematicv jet. Arrow 32 depicts thethermal jet and arrow 33 depicts the exhaust ,from the gas turbine. It is also indicated that the thermal jet and exhaust from the gas turbine will be directed through expansion'nozzles 2,5 and 26, respectively,l in such a manner that they will add to the propulsive thrust of the kinematic jet in driving the aircraft. While the invention has been described 'inde'- tail with respect tovv a .present preferred form which irmay assume, 'it is not to Vte limited to such details' and form since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from thespirit and scope of vthe :invention in its broadest aspects. Hencefitis desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A propulsion device for aircraft comprising a direpeller and an auxiliary thermal jet unit, said direpeller including adjacent rotating and stationary bladed members, a power plant connected to and driving said direpeller, an air compressor, a power plant connected to and driving said air compressor, the exhaust of said second power plant being passed to and driving the first power plant, means for supplying compressed air directly from the compressor to the thermal jet unit and means for supplying compressed air from said compressor to the power plant driving the compressor, and means for selectively varying the ratio of the compressed air thus distributed.

2. A propulsion device for aircraft comprising a direpeller and an auxiliary thermal jet unit including an exhaust gas and compressed air nozzle for adjustment of the orientation of the helical air flow within said direpeller, said direpeller including an adjoining rotating and a stationary member equipped with blading, said rotating member creating said helical air flow by imparting an angular velocity component, upon the longitudinl air flow, said stationary member rectifying said air ow to effect and receive a forward thrust, said thermal jet unit including an air compressor and a power plant driving the same, a power plant for driving the direpeller, said second power plant receiving the exhaust from the rst power plant, means for passing compressed air through said power plants to one of said nozzles and means for passing compressed air directly to the other of said nozzles, and means for apportioning relative amounts of air thus passed.

3. A propulsion device of the character set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that the direpeller comprises adjacent rotating and stationary bladed members, said rotating member creating a helical air flow which is subsequently rectified by the stationary member to create a forward thrust.

4. A propulsion device of the type set forth in claim 3, further characterized by the fact that the direpeller includes a tube within which the adjacent rotating and stationary members are mounted, said tube being opened at both ends.

5. A propulsion device which includes a direpeller and an auxiliary thermal jet unit including exhaust and compressed air nozzles, said direpeller including adjacent rotating and stationary bladed kmembers mounted coaxially within an open-ended tube, a low pressure turbine for driving the direpeller, an air compressor, a high pressure turbine driving said compressor, the

low pressure turbine being driven by the exhaust y gases from the high pressure turbine, and means for apportioning the compressed air between the turbines on the one hand and the compressed air nozzle on the other, the exhaust gas from the low pressure turbine being passed to the exhaust gas nozzle.

6. A propulsion device for aircraft including a direpeller and an auxiliary thermal jet unit for adjustment of the pitch of the air flow within said direpeller, said direpeller consisting of adjacent rotating and stationary bladed members coaxially mounted within an open-ended tube, a power plant for driving said rotating member to create a helical flow for imparting an angular velocity component upon the longitudinal air ow, said stationary member rectifying said helical air flow to eiect and receive a forward thrust, an air compressor and a power plant to drive it, means for passing compressed air in selected amounts from the compressor directly to the thermal jet unit, a heat exchanger disposed between th'e thermal jet unit and the rst mentioned power plant, said heat exchanger adapted to receive the air passing to the thermal jet unit directly from the compressor, and means for passing selected amounts of compressed air from the compressor through said power plants and said heat exchanger to the thermal jet unit.

7. A propulsion device for aircraft comprising adirepeller and an auxiliary thermal jet unit for the adjustment of the orientation of the helical air flow within said direpeller, said direpeller comprising adjacent rotating and stationary bladed members, said rotating member creating a helical air flow for imparting an angular velocity component to the longitudinal air flow entering the direpeller, said stationary member rectifying said helical air flow into a forward thrust, said thermal jet unit including an air compressor and a power plant to drive the same, a power plant connected to and driving the direpeller, the exhaust of the first power plant passing through and driving the second power plant, a pair of concentric nozzles forming part of the thermal jet unit, one of said nozzles adaptedv to receive gas from said power plants and the other compressed air from said compressor, means for passing selected amounts of compressed air through the power plants to one of said nozzles and means for passing selected amounts of compressed air directly from the compressor to the other nozzle.

8. A propulsion device of the type set forth in claim 7, further characterized by the fact that a heat exchanger is disposed to receive the exhaust gases from the power plants before they reach a nozzle and to transfer heat from said gases to the compressed air which passes directly from the compressor to the other nozzle.

9. A propulsion device of the type set forth in claim '7, further characterized by the fact that the nozzles are expansion nozzlesfor expanding and discharging the heated exhaust gases and heated compressed air towards the rear of the craft, the resulting thrust combining with the thrust of said direpeller to propel the aircraft.

ERNEST LAGELBAUER.

REFERENCES CITED rlhe following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 23,198 Anxionnaz et al. Feb. 21, 1950 2,385,366 Lysholm Sept. 25, 1945 

